


Protego

by EmiliaTargaryen



Series: Felicity James [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Language: Español
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24063052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmiliaTargaryen/pseuds/EmiliaTargaryen
Summary: Having completed her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, young Felicity James is eager to begin her second year. As the summer comes to a close, Felicity misses her friends and even her classes and professors. She only needs to survive a family dinner with her grandmother before she can return to school. Felicity finds that her extended family is, if possible, just as horrible as her grandmother and oddly smug, as though they know something that she doesn’t…However, excited as Felicity is, things are not well at Hogwarts. Strange attacks plague the school and no one seems to know what is happening to the students or how to stop them from happening. Felicity and her friends can only keep their heads down and try not to get themselves into trouble. Unfortunately, at Hogwarts, staying out of trouble is much easier said than done.
Series: Felicity James [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735996





	Protego

In a small town in the middle of nowhere, there was a little cottage in the shadow of a peculiar hill. The hill was home to a crumbling manor, once belonging to a family that had met a mysterious and untimely demise, earning the place its name – Hangman Hill.

The house overlooked by Hangman Hill seemed perfectly normal, with its stone walls and thatched roof, ivy creeping up the sides and bluebells beginning to blossom in the garden. But the family that lived there was far from normal, because Esther James came from a family of wizards.

Although she had no magic of her own, Esther’s twelve-year-old daughter, Felicity, did and had just finished her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Esther also had a son named Felix but, as he was only six, it was too soon to tell if he would follow in his sister’s footsteps.

On this particular morning in early August, although the sun was still sluggishly making its appearance upon the horizon, Felicity was wide awake. She stood at the window of the room she shared with Felix, wondering if it were too early to wake up her mother.

Although Felicity had enjoyed her summer at home, baking with her mother, entertaining her brother, and trying to tackle some of her holiday homework, the non-magic life was rather mundane after a year at Hogwarts. So, when she’d received a letter from her best friend, Ulric, inviting her to meet him in London to buy supplies for the next term, Felicity had been ecstatic.

To add to her excitement, she’d also learned from her favorite trouble-making twins that their family, along with fellow classmates Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, would also be going to Diagon Alley that same day. Nothing, Felicity thought, could spoil her happiness.

When Felicity finally heard her mother stirring, she went out into the kitchen to help prepare breakfast. Endlessly she chattered about the things she wanted to see and the stores she wanted to visit. Her mother said little, but smiled fondly whenever Felicity looked her way.

Finally, breakfast was ready and Felicity sent to wake Felix. The meal seemed to take forever and getting Felix to get dressed took doubly long. As the drive to London took several hours, it would be past noon before they arrived.

The family was just gathering at the front door when, glancing out the window, Felicity saw two figures appear quite suddenly at the end of the drive. They were both dark-haired, one tall and the other average, and both were dressed rather oddly, one in corduroy pants and a top with ruffles on the front (rather resembling something a pirate might wear) and the other in a powder blue suit over a white oxford shirt with a matching silk tie.

“No,” Felicity moaned.

Esther looked at her daughter, concerned. “What’s the matter, dear?”

“Look,” said Felicity miserably, pointing out the window.

Coming to the window, Esther spotted her brother and his ward and let out a similar noise of disappointment. “Oh, no. Not today. I dunno if I can manage not biting his head off.”

Felicity, however little she cared for Markus, wasn’t concerned about him. Her eyes, instead, went to Sebastian. At fourteen, Sebastian was tall and slender, his hair slightly curled in the morning moisture and his mouth pulled down in a distracted half-frown.

“Maybe we can shut the curtains,” Esther began, “and pretend we’re not home?”

That idea was snuffed, however, by Felix. Having spotted his favorite uncle through the window, Felix excitedly shouted, “Uncle, Uncle, Uncle!” and barreled out the front door. Throwing her head back and groaning, Esther reluctantly followed.

“Hey, kiddo!” Felicity heard Uncle Markus greeting Felix. Suppressing a groan of her own, Felicity stepped out onto the front step and closed the front door behind her.

Markus was looking at her from the end of the drive, grinning and waving. Although his smile was boyish, his features were sharp and his nearly-black hair shot through with streaks of white. He’d also grown a goatee since Felicity had last seen him, which was briefly over Christmas. His gray eyes studied her carefully as she trudged away from the house.

“Felicity, good to see you!” Uncle Markus exclaimed, clapping an arm around Felicity’s shoulders. “Had a nice summer?”

“Great.”

“Wonderful! Seb’s been a closed book, can’t get a word out of him! How was your first year?”

“Er, it was fine.”

“Just fine?” Markus adopted a concerned look for two seconds, then dismissed it just as readily, saying, “Of course, it would have been _great_ if you’d been put in Slytherin. ‘Fine’ is as well as a year in Gryffindor could be, I suppose. Not your fault, though. Courage, I suppose, is just as admirable a quality as ambition, though you definitely don’t want to sell your family name short.”

Felicity stared up at Markus, quite unable to think of anything to say to this. His boyish smile, his confidence in his own speech – how was Felicity supposed to tell him the primary reason her first year had only been _fine_ was because of Sebastian? They’d made peace near the end of the year, of course, but things had been up in the air ever since Dumbledore had changed the winning House at the last moment – from Sebastian’s to Felicity’s.

Without really realizing what she was doing, Felicity found her gaze wandering over to Sebastian. He was looking resolutely away from her, examining the village instead. It was clear from his posture – shoulders tight, hands in his pockets, jaw set in a semi-scowl – his feelings at the moment were less than friendly.

“I assume you had plans,” said Esther to Markus. “But we were actually heading out.”

“Oh? Off to do some school shopping?”

Before either of the girls could think of a lie, Felix exclaimed, “We’re going to Diagon Alley!”

“Excellent! Why don’t we accompany you? Seb hasn’t got his supplies yet either. And, if I’m not mistaken, I owe _someone_ a birthday gift.” He winked jovially at Felicity. “I was thinking a set of those Lockhart books. They’re on the supply list. Talk about a man with ambition, am I right?”

“Um…” Felicity glanced at her mother who, by the blank look on her face, had never heard of Lockhart, either.

They needn’t have worried, however, as Markus ploughed on, “Shall we get going then? I’ve always got Floo Powder on me – never know when you’ll need it.”

So Felicity led the way back up the front walk and into the house, feeling more miserable by the minute. The only comforting thought she had was that she’d hopefully be able to lose Markus and Sebastian in Diagon Alley.

Although it had been a year since she’d done it, traveling by Floo Powder was still as uncomfortable as Felicity had remembered. She put out her hands just in time to catch herself as she tumbled out of the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron. Felix and Esther, having gone first, helped her brush off the soot as Markus then Sebastian arrived.

Still brushing soot from unlikely places, Felicity and her family made their way through Diagon Alley toward a towering white building – Gringotts Bank. Felicity had been here only once and found herself looking this way and that, trying to take in all the things she’d missed last time – a shop dedicated entirely to quills, a store called Eeylops Owl Emporium, and even an ice cream parlor.

As they approached the bank, Felicity spotted a familiar figure standing on the steps. Breaking into a run, she threw her arms around him, nearly knocking them both to the ground.

“Missed me a bit?” Ulric chuckled. He looked the same as ever, although a bit taller and his hair, while still overlong on top, had been trimmed brutally short on the sides.

“Your hair!” Felicity couldn’t stop herself from saying. “What happened to it?”

“Oh, Mom forced me to do it. Says its all the style, but I haven’t seen anyone with it.” He ran a hand over his short hair self-consciously.

“It’ll grow out. Maybe Hermione even knows a spell to, y’know, help it along.”

“Who’s your friend, Felicity?”

Markus and the rest had caught up with her. Felicity, suddenly a little anxious, said, “Oh, er, this is Ulric. Ulric, this is my uncle, Markus Black.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Ulric politely.

“What’s your surname?” asked Markus, his voice almost casual.

“Halverson.”

“I’m not familiar with it.”

“We’ve just moved into the country last year,” Ulric explained. “We’re originally from Canada.”

“Mm. And where did you study magic, then?”

“Ilvermorny.”

“Ah.” Markus’ expression remained passive, but Felicity caught something like disdain in his tone as he turned his attention back to the family and said, “Children, shall we? Gold’s not going to collect itself.”

“Carts, carts!” Felix shouted excitedly. Felicity groaned – she hated the Gringotts carts. She caught Sebastian grinning at her, obviously remembering how she’d reacted to the carts last year, nearly throwing up and clinging to his hand like her life depended on it.

Then Sebastian frowned at Felicity, remembering he wasn’t speaking to her, and hurried into the bank after Markus.

“I’ve already got mine,” Ulric told Felicity. “Catch up with you later?”

“Definitely,” said Felicity, forcing her face into a smile. She was determined not to let Sebastian ruin this day for her; holding her head high, she set off into Gringott’s, grabbing Felix’s hand when she caught up with him and vowing to hold onto it for the length of the dreadful cart ride.

Half an hour later, Felicity emerged into the morning sunlight, breathing in a huge lungful of air. She felt very queasy and Esther, upon seeing how green Felicity looked, suggested they might have a cup of tea at the Leaky Cauldron while Markus took the boys for a look around the Alley.

Markus opened up his mouth to argue, but Esther put an arm around Felicity’s shoulders and steered her away at a brisk walk, leaving Markus, Sebastian, and Felix behind.

“You sure you want to leave Felix with them?” Felicity asked, not daring to look back.

“He’ll be fine,” answered Esther. “He’s too young, really, to absorb any of the rubbish my brother spews.”

Felicity, relieved, allowed herself to be led back up the Alley and into the grubby pub, where she and her mother took their time drinking tea from slightly grimy cups and talking mournfully of the things they’d be doing if Markus hadn’t turned up.

Once they’d emptied their cups, Felicity and Esther left the Leaky Cauldron and began their shopping. They visited the apothecary to restock Felicity’s supply of basic potion ingredients, then popped into Magical Menagerie to get a travel basket for Felicity’s cat, Baltimore. They spotted Ulric waiting in line at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor and happily joined him at a table outside, where they chatted about the upcoming school year over cola ice cream floats. Esther, unlike Markus, was perfectly nice to Ulric and even paid for his ice cream.

By the time they saw Uncle Markus again, Felicity was in a much better mood. Stuffed with ice cream and listening to Ulric animatedly telling Esther about one of their more interesting Transfiguration classes, the sight of Markus hurrying toward them, Felix hanging onto the hem of his shirt and Sebastian weighed down with packages behind them, filled her only with a curiosity of what they’d been up to.

After all, Felicity reminded herself, after today she wouldn’t have to see her uncle again until Christmas. There was still Sebastian to worry about but, back in the company of her best friend, Felicity found it was easy enough to put that out of her mind. They’d faced a maze of enchantments and creatures together at the end of last school year, after all, so surely convincing Sebastian to put aside his pride and be friendly wouldn’t be that difficult.

Or so Felicity thought.


End file.
